Adam Dodd (V3)

Name: Adam Dodd

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Grade: 12th

School: Southridge

Hobbies and Interests: Hockey, Writing, Public Speaking, Track and Field, Photography

Appearance: The first impression that one gets when they look at Adam Dodd is that he is someone who is haunted by his past. His brown eyes betray an intelligence about them, but the intelligence in his eyes are not the most prominent thing that you'd notice about them - that would in fact be the look of suspicion and guardedness that are basically stamped across his forehead. He wears his orangey-red hair a little longer than he'd particularily like to; long enough to come halfway down his ears and obstruct his forehead. It's a style that doesn't look bad on him, and because of the pure number of 'shaggy-haired surfers' around California, it doesn't appear out of place on him. Of course, this haircut is purely by necessity rather than want.

Adam usually wears stubble on his face, and only shaves once every couple of days, mainly because of the fact that most mornings, he can't be bothered. It alternates between making him look hardened and like he perpetually just got out of bed; both of which could be seen as accurate. The stubble also adds a few years to his percieved age, a feature that he's essentially had since the age of 13. Today, at 19, Adam manages to easily pass for a 23 to 26 year old, and it leads to him being carded very infrequently if he ever opts to go to a bar.

Physically, Adam is in the best shape he's ever been in. From the ages of fourteen to sixteen, Adam was mildly overweight, and felt very self-conscious about it. He didn't eat properly and his endurance and sports ability sufferred as a result. It took an entirely traumatic experience for Adam to turn this around, but in the two and a half years past, he's managed to do just that. Now down thirty-five pounds from his former weight of 210, Adam tips the scales at about 175 lbs, managing to keep himself in good enough shape to perform adequately at basically any sport that he wants to, aside from volleyball.

Most of Adam's muscle-weight comes from his legs, which are the most muscular part of his body, much in part to the fact that he started taking a very active interest in track and field once he turned seventeen. The only fat that one can really see on his body is around his stomach area, and manages to be the remnants of his formerly larger gut; though it's barely noticable now.

In terms of wardrobe, Adam dresses fairly conservatively. He's usually found in dark blue jeans that are loose enough for comfort, but tight enough that they look appropriate for going out in, and moving quickly if ever necessary. Even though the California weather doesn't make it practical to wear jeans all the time, Adam usually does, very rarely opting to wear shorts. On the odd time that he does, he usually wears greenish-brown khaki pants with zip-off legs that he converts into shorts. Aside from that, Adam is almost always found in a t-shirt. Most of the ones he owns are varying shades of black or blue, but the odd green or white shirt manages to sneak its way into his wardrobe as well. When it's colder, or later on at night, Adam usually wears a dark blue hoodie, unzippable down the front. He has two or three that he alternates between, and hence he's not usually seen wearing much else. Upon very rare occasions, Adam has been spotted wearing various hockey jerseys, and rumors say that he's got an extensive collection, but nobody sees him wearing them all that much.

Adam has a multitude of scarring spanning a great deal of his body. His left ear has been surgically reconstructed, and while it resembles a real ear to anyone who gives it a passing glance, it's really just a hunk of flesh that resembles an ear to anyone who looks any closer. That, of course, is the main reason that Adam wears his hair longer. His left arm has a long scar in the upper portion, and while it has healed well, Adam occasionally finds that arm weaker than the other. His left hand has scarring on the palm, but it isn't that noticable to those who shake his hand. His left shoulder also is scarred right across the top, almost like someone took a magic marker and ran a line right across it. The wound was not a serious one, but the scarring remains, and is indeed something people have noticed before. Over the rest of his body, small nicks and abraisions have healed over time but left small scars to remind Adam of their presence. Finally, his chest still remains slightly discoloured with a bluish hue, bruises that never seemed to disappear.

Biography: Adam Dodd used to be a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, the kind of guy that was the type of person that everyone knew as a 'really good guy'. He enjoyed making his friends laugh and was the kind of person who was quick with a joke to make people feel better in sadder times. Adam had a very genuine love for life, and considered himself an optimist. He used to overthink everything, and his penchant for overthinking situations would often frustrate him and make him miserable. Adam was the kind of person that everyone knew and enjoyed hanging around with; not really popular but rather someone everyone knew and liked.

That was how Adam Dodd used to be.

June 19th, 2005 was the second-most important day in Adam Dodd's life.

On June 19th, 2005, one hundred and twenty teenagers from around the world were kidnapped into what was seen as the largest scale terrorist attack that the world had ever seen. The sheer number of kidnappings was the reason it was seen as such a horrific event. The United States, who suffered the heaviest loss, was at a loss to negotiate with the terrorist known as Danya, who didn't even seem to have a feasible list of demands. He simply wanted to make a statement, or so it seemed. Danya and his team placed the hundred and twenty teenagers on a deserted island in an unknown part of the world and forced them to kill each other, until there was one survivor. To add insult to injury, he then hijacked several television satellites and broadcast the 'competition' world-wide. Many thought it was a new kind of reality television show, which was exactly what Danya had hoped. The government was powerless to stop it, and the ordeal lasted ten days, until finally, on June 29th, 2005, the finally kill was scored and only one teenager remained.

June 29th was the most important day of Adam Dodd's life because it was the day that he became the sole survivor of what would be dubbed as the 'Survival of the Fittest tragedy'.

Three days later, Adam was returned to the United States without any memory or recollection of how. The terrorists managed to vanish into the wind, not to be heard from again. The government was baffled, and a massive reward was posted for the apprehension of Danya and his cohorts, but nothing ever managed to come of it.

After arriving home, Adam found himself severely traumatized by the events. The recurring nightmares persisted for weeks, and the physical scars took months to heal. Adam's psychologists and doctors weren't optimistic that the emotional and mental scars would ever go away, and at the very least that they would take years to heal. In the year after SOTF, Adam was officially diagnosed with PTSD, or Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder. Following this diagnosis, Adam's family (who by this time had moved back to Canada) began to take steps to hold him back a year from school, in order to cope with his experiences. Much to their shock, Adam vehemently objected to this, insisting that he be allowed to continue. Against their better judgement, they agreed, and Adam returned to school the following September.

Much to the surprise of just about everyone, Adam's grades actually managed to improve than what they'd been before the incident. Thanks to the insomnia that can be associated with sufferers of PTSD, Adam used much of this time to complete his homework assignments, managing to do a solid job on almost all of them. It took Adam just over the requisite three months to overcome the most severe symptoms of his acute PTSD, but some still recur to this day.

Adam suffered a small recurrance of his PTSD midway through grade eleven when it was discovered that two of his best friends had been kidnapped and were participating in the second SOTF, while on an exchange program in the US. Both did not survive the program.

Following the completion of his grade eleven year, Adam recieved a visit from a pair of high-ranking United States Government officials. The men essentially apologized for the kidnapping incident and offerred Adam a compensation package. Evidently, a university in Southern Califonia was very interested in having Adam attend their school, as someone who might be able to give insights upon terrorism and strategies for combatting it, with special focus on a new program devoted entirely towards investigating what could be done to safeguard against the SOTF tragedy from occurring again. Adam would move to California, be given a house free of charge for his family and him to live in, and would recieve free tuition, as well as non-taxable status. Somewhat surprised by the offer, Adam took his time to consider it. Both of his parents did not want him to go, as they felt that moving to the United States was something that they did not want to do. Eventually, Adam decided that finding a way to indirectly fight terrorism was something that he wanted to do, especially if it meant managing to bring down Danya, the figure that haunted his nightmares in the process.

Upon agreeing to the offer, Adam explained to his parents that he didn't expect for them to pick up and move from Canada again. In fact, Adam stated that since he was eighteen years old, moving out on his own might be something that he'd like to try and do. After much discussion, his parents relented, promising thought that they'd be visiting once a month, something to which they kept firm and upheld on.

Upon starting grade twelve, Adam found himself having to start over again...for the third time. Everywhere he went, it seemed that the initial reaction to his presence was that of shock. He had a strange kind of infamy that almost bordered upon celebrity. However, instead of rejecting it and becoming reclusive, Adam had other ideas upon what to do with it.

Today, Adam Dodd still has a strange sort of popularity. Instead of being popular in the traditional sense, he remains someone that everyone knows. He still holds a few close friends, but has a hard time attaching himself to people, as in his experience, they don't live long enough to become his lifelong friends. Now, he is the person that everyone knows, and are almost wary of. Nobody says anything negative towards him, for fear of how he'll react. In fact, that's something that pisses Adam off a little bit, mainly because he feels that they aren't being honest with him.

Adam's now very sarcastic and sardonic, having an air of bitterness about him, that comes from his prior experience. There are still times when his prior self pokes its head through the clouds, and Adam tries his hardest to be like he used to be, but he knows that to revert completely back to his old self is essentially impossible.

Adam is known as an impassioned public speaker, especially when speaking out against terrorism or SOTF. At the beginning of the school year, Adam started an anti-SOTF club at his school, encouraging as many people as possible to join in, so that the true horrors of the program could emerge. Adam did this right at the beginning, when he learned of the general perception that SOTF was a glorified reality television show, something that he knew could not be further from the truth. His club helped dispel this rumor amongst those that joined, and he has often been invited to speak on the subject at other high schools in the area.

While surviving such an experience might have left some people quiet and reclusive, Adam has a surprising degree of self-confidence. He no longer overthinks everything, and finds himself coming to 'hard' decisions far more easily now than he ever did before. He often tries very hard to fit in amongst his peers, but finds it slightly more difficult now than he used to.

While much about him has changed, some things have stayed the same. Adam remains a good listener, and those that count him as a close friend feel that they are lucky to have him as a friend. Adam is still a naturally kind person, though it's been tempered a little bit. He still always means well, even if it gets lost in the translation between his traumatized mind and his peers.

While his PTSD has mainly disappeared, Adam is still slightly jumpy, being startled easily, and still has occasional recurring nightmares about the first SOTF. While he now is able to sleep through a night, he often dreams about the best friends that he misses so often; those being Hawley, Madelaine, Amanda, Andrew, Adam, and Andrew.

Some people find it hard to associate with Adam due to the well-known fact that he has committed twelve different murders and gone unpunished for it. Adam is disturbed at the lack of feeling he has for this, but has learned to accept it. He still feels remorse from time to time, but only when he dwells upon it (which doesn't happen often).

Advantages: He's lived through one SOTF competition and knows what to expect. He has no problem with killing to survive, as he's already killed twelve people the first time around. Thanks to the first experience, he's got experience with many kinds of different weapons and is somewhat proficient with handling a shotgun. Adam is still intelligent, and is still socially apt, and will likely be able to organize a group quite well, thanks mainly to his 'celebrity'. He's in far better shape this time around. Fought tooth and claw for his life in the first one and succeeded, so he's bound to fight even harder this time.

Disadvantages: That 'celebrity' could be his downfall. Motivators might feel that killing the winner of the first SOTF could be something that makes them better than the competition, and eliminates what would likely be one of the larger threats for them to win the competition. May have a recurrance of his PTSD upon realiizing his situation, which could cause him to fall apart completely. His left side is physically weaker than his right, thanks to the injuries he sustained last time, and this could present a problem to him. Isn't as well-liked as he was in his previous school, and his fellow students could have a hard time trusting him. Could end up going most of it alone.

Designated Number: Male Student no. 77

'The above biography is as written by Adam. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

==

Designated Weapon: Switchblade

Conclusions: Well, well, well, the infamous Boy #77 rejoins us for another game. I must say, it's quite the pleasure to have him back, and it'll be quite the pleasure to watch him die a slow, painful death. I'll tell you one thing, this kid isn't winning the game a second time.

Game Evaluations
Kills: Dennis McDonald, Ivye Dewley, Gabriel Theobaldt

Killed by: Died of an infection after escaping the island

Collected Weapons: Switchblade (designated weapon), Fluorescent Light Tubes (x9) (found in Storehouse), H&K VP70 (from Julie Mikan), Grenades (x4) (from Ivye Dewley, Arming Sword (from Gabriel Theobaldt) M1 Thompson submachine gun (BKA, Day 3)

Allies: Julie Mikan, Izzy Cheung, Bill Ritch, Ryan Atwell, Keith Jackson

Enemies: Paul Smith, Gabriel Theobaldt, Darnell Butler

Mid-Game Evaluation: TBD

Post-Game Evaluation: TBD

Memorable Quotes:


 * "Oh, sure they can. But odds are, I'll find a friendly face in here, as opposed to one that's wanting to steal my friendly face and add it to their collection of friendly faces hanging on their mantle." - talking to himself upon stumbling across the church
 * "Wait, let me get this straight? You'd kill a puppy?! YOU, my friend, are one sick fuck!" - to Gabriel Theobaldt, as the latter explained to Adam just how far he was willing to go in SOTF
 * "You don't seem to get it, but the way to get out of this game IS NOT to play to win! That's just fuckin' stupidity! You've got to do the smart thing, and play to survive. Survival of the Fittest. That's what he nicknames it. If you play to win, to kill everyone else, you won't last. It's not possible, because you'll have someone like me, someone like that Calvert guy...you play to stay alive, to keep you and your buddies breathing. In the end, if you do that shit, you'll come out okay." - Adam shares some insight on SOTF with Gabriel Theobaldt while at the same time chastising him for playing
 * "Y'know what? The more things change, the more they stay the same, you son of bitch." - to Danya via a camera
 * ""Evaluate? How's "we're all fucked" for an evaluation?"
 * "Hawley once told me he just wanted to prove that he was a good person. (...) That's all... all I ever wanted to do. Be a good person. Be a good man. Help my friends... people who needed it. Be someone my dad would be proud of. (...) I tried... and y'know what? I think I did okay. I think he'd be okay with how I did. (...) I think I can live with that." - to Keith Jackson; Adam's final words

Other/Trivia

 * Along with Sydney Morvran, Adam is the second person to be involved in two SOTF games, not including the test runs (where the winner was always put into the next game).
 * While Adam Dodd is listed as 19 in his V3 bio, having skipped a year of school, this actually doesn't mathematically work out properly. V1 was set in 2005, and V3 was set in 2007, meaning Dodd would actually have been 18 and have not skipped any school for the timeline to work out properly.
 * In April '08 Adam won the BKA.

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Adam, in chronological order.

Pre-Game:
 * Of Ice and Men
 * A Meeting of the Minds
 * Determination

V3:
 * Nothing Left to Say But Goodbye
 * Pomme de Terre
 * Archangel
 * In God's House
 * Yes It Is
 * Them vs. You vs. Me
 * One Man Revolution
 * Stalwart
 * Long Road to Ruin
 * In Your Honour
 * Grosse
 * #6: Freedom or Bust
 * Finale: Live and Let Die
 * V3 Epilogue: We Did It, When We Were Young
 * Life; As It Happens: 6 - Coda

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Adam Dodd. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''

My greatest failure. Bringing him back was a mistake. I own that now. - Dodd, 2018.